The Ingredients of Success: Lessons from an Experimentalist.
It's important to achieve things in life. Some are essential to lead a good life, while others are just for instant gratification. The bigger the goal, the bigger the effort it takes. I have experimented through different careers in my life, from corporate financing to fish farming; even while I am presently working for the government in accounting, I am still experimenting, and while experimenting, I have failed and succeeded multiple times, and now I look back, I think I got a fair idea about the preconditions of the success in the endeavor. Here is what I learned:
Choosing to do what you love Don’t go into a career just for money or for the sake of comparison. Go for the love of it. When you choose to do what you love, your cognitive as well as creative abilities come in sync. You improvise more easily. You won’t be afraid to deal with new challenges; instead, you will be looking to find new challenges, and the best part is ‘Monday mornings won’t feel bad.’
Knowing your true strengths and attitude It’s one thing to love something, but in order to get it, you should know whether your strengths and attitudes are suited for a particular endeavor. I love Scarlett Johansen, but………., when I was studying, I chose an MBA because I loved the idea of running my own hedge fund someday, but my attitude and basic nature didn’t align with a corporate culture. I found out that I don’t work well under stress, as well as my dislike for authority, so I eventually decided to leave the corporation (they would have kicked me out anyway after a few more months) and went for fish farming(that' is a whole other story). While choosing to do something, a person should love it but also make sure that his true nature and talents align with it. While having the technical know-how is a given while going into a career, psychological traits are also equally important.
Persistence Persistence is the key to achieving any result. Success is not easy. It takes constant effort, and you have to rise through a pile of failures again and again( though you won’t feel like a unicorn, it feels like an overworked donkey). There will be periods of no or slow progress; although you may be giving your best, you need to hang in there long enough. Most fail because they quit too early. You need to give time to your ideas, have faith, and keep going. The role of persistence can never be overstated.
Research Yeah, it’s obvious, I know. But like George Orwell said, ‘ Sometimes the first duty of intelligent men is the reinstatement of the obvious.’ Before executing your idea, do in-depth research on your plan. Try to meet people who are already successful in that field, read case studies, and watch YouTube videos. Chatgpt can also help you in research. The research will ensure that you understand the ins and outs of the plan, at least theoretically, and you will also have a rough idea about the time it will take to execute the plan, which will make your expectations more realistic.
Minimum distractions- When you start on a new path, keep the other plans on hold. For instance, don’t trouble your mind and finances by buying a new car unnecessarily. If possible, keep dating or marriage on hold, keep away from negative people, avoid drama, and focus all your energy on the plan till it is executed. The plan is like a baby. In the initial stages, it will need more care, and after some time, it will start handling most things on its own, but if you don’t give it enough time in the initial stages, it will not just mess itself up; it will also make your life difficult.
Strong self-belief Once you have checked on above mentioned factors, the thing that will keep you going is strong self-belief. There will be people who will criticize you; they may even be your close ones. Some may not want you to succeed, while others might not understand your plan and think that you are bonkers. You don’t have to convince them and waste your energy; only self-belief can help you handle such criticism.
Visualization You need to visualize that you have successfully completed your endeavor and feel the minute details that you expect you will be feeling when you will be successful. For example, when I wanted to build a cottage resort in the middle of the Himalayas, I visualized it every day that the resort was built, and I was sitting near a bonfire on a cold night while talking to tourists and sipping jack, although, at that time, I did not have the resources to build it. Visualization is something that works when you really believe it. There shall be no doubts while doing it. I am not sure how exactly it works; it may take time, but it works. I know it since It worked for me. It is called by different names, such as The Law of Attraction by Rhonda Bryne or The Power of the Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.
Success is like pasta. You will need all the ingredients in the right proportions to get the real feel of it. Though I have listed the ingredients, it is you who has to find the best recipe that suits your palate.